In 2020 group of women subjected to invasive gynecological searches at Doha airport will sue Qatari authorities, seeking redress for an ordeal that sparked global condemnation.
Women on 10 Qatar Airways flights from Doha, including 13 Australians, were subjected to the examinations late at 2020 as authorities searched for the mother of a newborn found abandoned in an airport bathroom. Outrage over the incident increased along with worries about how women are treated in Qatar.
Seven affected passengers are planning legal action, according to Damian Sturzaker of Sydney-based Marque Lawyers, to “send a message to Qatari authorities that you can’t treat women… in this manner.”
The group of women experienced severe distress on the evening in question, which was just over a year ago, and they are still dealing with the effects and trauma of what happened.
Sturzaker said the women were seeking a formal apology, compensation, and protection for future passengers transiting through the airport. Ahead of the World Cup, the country has struggled to reassure critics that its promises on women’s rights, labour relations and democracy are credible. After the incident, Qatar vowed to ensure future passengers “safety and security” to avoid suffering irreparable financial and reputational damage.
The nation’s prime minister also expressed regret, and a police officer who oversaw the searches at the airport reportedly received a conviction.
But Sturzaker said the women had not been made aware of any improvements to airport procedures and their attempts to seek mediation had been unsuccessful.
Qatar now wanted to highlight their case ahead of the 2022 football World Cup, to ensure other travellers were well-informed before visiting Qatar, he added. The Gulf state is preparing to receive thousands of foreign visitors for the Fifa tournament.
Sturzaker said the lawsuit would be filed in Australia against the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, Hamad International Airport, Qatar Airways and the country’s government.
Five Australian women have filed a lawsuit against Qatar Airways over a 2020 incident in which they without explanation or consent, reports The Guardian were subjected to invasive medi.he women were forcibly removed from a plane at gunpoint and allegedly strip searched.
On October 2, 2020, more than a dozen women were escorted off a QatarAirways plane on ground by armed security guards. They were subjected to invasive examinations as authorities searched for a woman who had abandoned a newborn baby in a plastic bag at Hamad international airport in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
According to the New York Times, some women were forced to remove their underwear, while others had their stomachs pressed.
Qatar’s Prime Minister, Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, tweeted an apology saying: “We regret the unacceptable treatment of the female passengers at HIA … What took place does not reflect Qatar’s laws or values.” Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
The women said they had had no communication from the Australian government about changes in Qatar and no details of the confidential report had been shared with them. A letter they sent to Qatar’s embassy in August seeking dialogue had received no response.
Sophie* was one of 13 women hauled off a Qatar Airways flight and examined after an abandoned baby was found at the airport. She is one of a number of women who are speaking out over the incident.
Sophie*, who was travelling alone, says she was ordered to carry her passport and leave the plane, then marched into a lift by armed guards. Fearing for her life, she demanded another of the women enter the ambulance with her so the two could at least be each other’s witnesses.
“I felt full of rage leaving the ambulance that I didn’t have a stronger voice, that I allowed that to take place, that maybe I didn’t protest enough. I felt pretty powerless against what had happened.”
Among the women marched off QA 908 bound for Sydney was Anna* who was flying back home with her five-month-old son. Despite clutching her own baby, she was not spared the ordeal. Speaking publicly for the first time, she said: “It was the scariest moment of my life.”
Anna*. one of the Australian women taken from a Qatar flight in Doha
“This is an airline that wins all the awards for customer experience and service and you know all these accolades. I thought they would know better”. “We haven’t heard from them, not a single word. Not a letter, not an email, not a message, not a phone call. Not a single apology Nothing.” says Anna
Victorian nurse Jane*, was the first to speak out in that year, detailing the harrowing internal inspection she endured against her will.
‘I need you to lay down on the bed’ … and she grabbed my pants and my underwear and she stripped them. And for a second I just think my head was about to explode’ she said
“I remember thinking, ‘This is bizarre. Why am I having to remove my pants?’ So I pulled them down and she goes, ‘We need to remove your underwear.’ And I said, ‘I don’t feel comfortable with removing my underwear,’ and I was physically holding them up … I was in shock at that stage … I remember laying there thinking, ‘This isn’t right. This is not how this should be happening. This isn’t how this should be done.’ ” she said
“It is absolutely disgraceful that the Qatari authorities were in a position to just randomly take women off a plane and force them to be subject to an invasive gynecological exam without getting informed consent, without any information about what was going on.”
“These women have taken the brave decision to say, ‘we’re not going to stand by and allow this to have happened and let you get away with it. We want to see this end”
Mr Sturzaker will commence proceedings in the NSW Supreme Court this month, seeking compensation for the group on the basis the Qatari parties breached their duty of care, caused deliberate harm and breached the Montreal convention, which recognises air carrier liability.
When quizzed about the federal government’s response at a press conference in Melbourne, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was “very pleased” with the representations his government had made on the matter.
“That was an awful experience for these women … There was an investigation, there has been a conviction, and there’s been a significant change to airport processes in Qatar,” he said.
Federal government sources, who cannot be named because they are not authorized to speak publicly, said the details were contained in a high-level “confidential report” from the Qatari government.
But the women said they had had no communication from the Australian government about changes in Qatar and no details of the confidential report had been shared with them. A letter they sent to Qatar’s embassy in August seeking dialogue had received no response.
If the Australian government is not prepared and willing to protect Australian women, who are seen as the mothers of the next generation and whose sanctity must never be compromised at any cost, then someone else should be protected.
